“I am a strong black woman and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined. I cannot be thought to be a friend of Bill O’Reilly or a friend of anybody. And I would like to say to women out there everywhere. Don’t allow these right wing talking heads, these dishonorable people to intimidate you or scare you. Be who you are. Do what you do, and let us get on to discussing the real issues of this country.”

Waters added:

“Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes have no credibility They have been sued by women. They have had to pay millions of dollars out in fines for harassment and other kinds of things and so we know about that checkered past. And we also know that when a woman stands up and speaks truth to power there will be attempts to put her down. And so I’m not going to be put down. I’m not going to go anywhere. I’m going to stay on the issue.”

O’Reilly issued an apology soon after his remarks went viral yesterday.

“As I have said many times, I respect Congresswoman Maxine Waters for being sincere in her beliefs. I said that again today on ‘Fox and Friends,’ calling her ‘old school.’ Unfortunately, I also made a jest about her hair, which was dumb. I apologize.”